Florio criticizes W. Va. running back for staying in school

by | Jan 14, 2010 | College Football, NFL Draft, NFL Random Thoughts

I know I just wrote 2,200 words the other day focused at least in part on describing why I think ProFootballTalk.com isn’t as good a site as it used to be.

And I hate to harp on the topic. But he wrote another post today that raised my ire. Today Mike Florio’s topic was Noel Devine, the running back from West Virginia who decided to pass on the draft and go back for his senior season.

Sure, there might be little for him to prove by staying a Mountaineer. And yes, the NFL might impose a rookie salary cap for the 2011 season. So it’s possible – even likely – that Devine might cost himself some money by staying in school.

But at the end of the day, even if the NFL imposes a rookie salary cap, if he’s taken in the first couple rounds of the 2011 draft (assuming there is one) he’s going to make plenty of money.

Isn’t it just possible that Devine is enjoying the college experience? Can it be that he likes his teammates and wants to make a run at a major bowl game? Perhaps a national championship? Or, maybe he wants to guard against the chances that an NFL career doesn’t work out by, cough, cough, getting a degree?

Many college players come out early. And sure, it’s hard to blame them with the payouts they see in front of them. But many stay in school, some because they just enjoy it.

So often college football players are criticized for pretending to be students and using the NFL as a springboard for a pro contract. It’s almost surprising with a good to great player when it goes the other way.

So whatever Devine’s reasons, can we just enjoy the fact – injury risks aside (yes, see the cases of Sam Bradford and Michael Bush) – that this guy might be in the college game for more than just the big payoff? He’s taking a risk. But there’s insurance for that. I applaud Noel Devine. I don’t watch a lot of West Virginia games but I hope this move pays off for you.

No matter what ProFootballTalk.com says.

Playoff setup fine; PFT not what it was

by | Jan 6, 2010 | NFL Media, NFL Random Thoughts

Mike Florio has done a nice job building his Web site into a national phenomenon. But he was better when he had to pick and choose the issues on which he weighed in because of time constraints stemming from his legal job (though it rarely seemed like he actually had any law-related work to do). Now it seems as though he feels he has to weigh in on every single little thing that comes up. And much of what he floats is simply ridiculous.

In recent weeks, he has posted his opinion that:

– The Vikings should bench Adrian Peterson because he fumbles too much – did he look up the per carry fumbles of other young, future star running backs like Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Walter Payton, et al? And when he fumbled at the end of the Chicago game (which by the way was lost at least equally if not more so by an ineptly played special teams performance and a defense that generated no pass rush and gave up 36 points to the Bears) it was his first drop in four games. Furthermore he ran for nearly 1400 yards and 18 touchdowns this season – and was criticized throughout the season for not breaking enough big runs. For those numbers in, potentially, a down season, I’ll take seven fumbles.

– The NFL eliminating supplemental revenue sharing likely wouldn’t affect the league’s competitive balance because it never has before. This simply ignores the fact that there has been a salary cap preventing teams from dramatically outspending their league brethren the way the Yankees outspend every other team in Major League Baseball. Does he seriously think that owners like Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones wouldn’t do the same thing the Yankees do in an uncapped NFL?
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Nice timing on Smith’s trade request

by | Dec 28, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

Troy Smith informed the Baltimore Ravens Monday that he’d like to be traded.

Well, actually it was his agent, Ralph Cindrich, via his Twitter page.

This is just one of the many issues with Twitter, which allows people to post thoughts real time – many of which, if not most, are pointless, inappropriate, boring or some combination thereof.

In this case I’ll go with inappropriate. Note to Cindrich, the Ravens play at Oakland Sunday and a win puts them in the playoffs.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand why Smith wants out. It looks like Joe Flacco is going to be the starter there for several years. Smith is a good athlete with some potential and he wants a chance to play. I get that – any good competitor probably feels the same way. But the timing is terrible.

Just what a team needs as they approach a must-win game – the backup quarterback telling the team he’s going to seek an offseason trade.

Come on Mr. Cindrich. Teams can’t trade right now anyway. Would it have hurt you to wait the seven days before they’re officially eliminated? What if they now make the playoffs and starter Joe Flacco gets injured? The team is going to respond to a guy who already informed the team he no longer wants to be there?

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Twitter has a few legitimate purposes. Unfortunately most of its users – apparently including Cindrich – aren’t capable of filtering out when or what should and shouldn’t be posted. Here’s a hint – save the offseason for the offseason.

Weekend shift in the NFC balance of power

by | Dec 21, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

It was another strange week in the NFL.

The biggest shift came at the top of the NFC where New Orleans and Minnesota were humbled, the Saints by the Cowboys and the Vikings by a less-than-stellar Carolina bunch that isn’t in playoff contention.

The games prompted Cris Collinsworth on NBC last night to speculate that Dallas and Philadelphia have perhaps overtaken the Vikings and Saints as the teams to beat in the NFC.

I think that might be jumping the gun a bit. The Saints have only lost one game and that offense isn’t going to be held to 17 points very often. It’s hard to win in the NFL, as shown by the fact that only one team in the Super Bowl era has ever finished a season completely unbeaten. And it took Dallas a nearly perfect game to knock New Orleans from the ranks of the unbeaten.

It was the perfect storm Saturday night. Other teams have gotten leads on the Saints. But none of those teams have the combination of running (Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice) and passing (Tony Romo to Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Roy Williams, et al) that the Cowboys were able to successfully throw at the Saints. Dallas got up two scores and successfully mixed up the offense to frustrate the Saints, gaining a 9 minute time of possession edge heading into the fourth quarter.

That is definitely the recipe for beating New Orleans – Get a lead and then keep that offense off the field. And there’s no question Dallas has the talent to be as good as anyone on both sides of the ball. But there are still several questions with that team. They still haven’t played well in December this season – the Saturday win snapped a two game losing streak.

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Young finally looks like Titans future QB

by | Nov 23, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

The Tennessee Titans’ season was mostly ended by a shocking 0-6 start that left the team looking way up in the standings.

It was a disappointing and ugly start for a highly thought of team that won 13 games last year during the regular season.

But not all is lost. The Titans are amidst a three-game winning streak and are leading the Houston Texans by a field goal midway through the third quarter of tonight’s matchup.

More importantly for the long-term, Vince Young looks like a different quarterback.

The third pick in the 2006 draft flashed a ton of potential while posting middling stats as a rookie. His struggles worsened in 2007 in 15 starts and in 2008, he struggled in the opener, got hurt, lost his job to Kerry Collins and ended up having some personal issues that reportedly really had the Titans worried.

But the Titans held on to Young, stashing him for a season as Collins took the reins. The time away from the spotlight apparently gave Young a chance to better learn the system – and to mature into a better leader.

He’s shown some fight tonight, taking on tacklers and getting into the faces of Texans defenders who have skirmished with Titans players after whistles. He’s scrambled to keep plays alive and thrown some nice balls both short and long, flashing more than a few signs that he might start to fulfill his potential.

The sequence I’ve been most impressed with came following a couple of mistakes. First there was the drive where he lost the fumble. The following series, on 2nd and 4 he threw a long pass that should have been intercepted by Dunta Robinson. He clapped his hands, shook it off, dropped back on third down, found nobody open, then took off on a six yard gain for a first down.
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Moderately competent quarterbacking leads to Raiders win

by | Nov 22, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

Bruce Gradkowski is far from a star. In fact, pick an adjective – well-traveled journeyman comes to mind – that means average and it probably can be applied to the Oakland Raiders quarterback.

He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Toledo in the 6th round in 2006 draft and he promptly started 11 games that season, throwing nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. His efforts that season, by far the most he has played, produced a sub-70 quarterback rating.

The Bucs let him play in four games the following year before letting him go and he spent last year as a backup for the inept Cleveland Browns before joining Oakland this season.

That should provide some insight into just how bad JaMarcus Russell was playing when Tom Cable finally pulled the plug and benched the former first overall pick. And Gradkowski’s performance Sunday against Cincinnati – a perfectly average game during which he completed half of his 34 passes for 183 yards (for two touchdowns with a pick and a lost fumble) – should also lend some credence to a post I wrote after the first game this year when Oakland pushed San Diego to the limit before losing late.

The Raiders defense – though far from good – has shown signs at times of competence this season. And the team has a three-headed running attack loaded with potential. But Russell’s ineptitude for most of the season has with rare exception covered up any gains the team might have made.

And off-the-field issues have further provided reason to ridicule the once proud silver and black.

Gradkowski or not, I didn’t think the Raiders had a chance at all of upsetting a surprising Cincinnati Bengals team that still controls its own destiny as far as capturing the AFC North title this season. But thanks to the joys of NFL Sunday Ticket, I flipped on the game with about three minutes left and there was the old Toledo Rocket quarterback methodically taking the Raiders down for a game-tying touchdown.

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